The Prince and the King's Hand
by ariel2me
Summary: The talk between Doran Martell and Jon Arryn when Jon Arryn went to Sunspear to return Lewyn Martell's bones.


_"Is it true he [Oberyn] tried to raise Dorne for Viserys?" "No one speaks of it, but yes. Ravens flew and riders rode, with what secret messages I never knew. Jon Arryn sailed to Sunspear to return Prince Lewyn's bones, sat down with Prince Doran, and ended all the talk of war. But Robert never went to Dorne thereafter, and Prince Oberyn seldom left it." (A Storm of Swords)_

"The penalty for ignoble treason is death, Prince Doran. You and your brother would do well to remember that. Your descendants would pay a great price as well, starting with your heir Princess Arianne. King Robert may well decide that the fate of Dorne will be better served under the guidance of a different overlord, not a Nymeros Martell of Sunspear. All hail the Prince of Dorne, Prince Ormond of House Yronwood. How does that sound to you?"

"It sounds like a threat."

"Merely a reminder."

"Tell me the difference, Lord Arryn. Tell me why our cause should be considered as ignoble treason, while Robert Baratheon's war against King Aerys was a righteous and legitimate one?"

"Aerys Targaryen broke his covenant with the entire realm. His crimes were crimes against the Seven Kingdoms. He forfeited his right to sit on the Iron Throne and rule over the realm with those crimes."

"While Robert Baratheon's crime was merely against Dorne?"

"King Robert had absolutely no involvement in the sad and tragic death of your sister and her children. You have no reason to disbelieve it, nor have you any evidence to dispute it."

"Direct involvement is one thing, but acquiescence is quite another. He might not have ordered it, but he approved of it, once the deed was done. And he protected … no, he _still_ protects, to this very day, the men who were involved in that crime. He went as far as to make one of them his good-father. Tywin Lannister's dream of seeing his daughter as queen was finally realized. Murdering women and children has its rewards, it seems."

"Even if it were true that it was Lord Tywin's tongue who ordered the killing, the dispute is one strictly between House Martell and House Lannister, not between Dorne and the Iron Throne."

" _Dispute._ You speak of it so lightly, as if we were contesting the ownership of a piece of land, not seeking justice for the brutal murder of innocents. How could it be a dispute strictly between the two houses when the king _himself_ clearly profited from the crime, by the removal of those with a better claim to the throne than himself? This crime whose perpetrators he adamantly refuses to punish, in defiance of his sworn duty as king. What about _Robert Baratheon's_ covenant with the realm? Or does he not consider Dorne as part of his realm?"

"The … _quarrel …_ is between House Martell and House Lannister. The two houses must seek a way to settle it among yourselves. The king wishes to remain neutral in this matter."

"Settle it among ourselves? How do you propose we do that, Lord Arryn? Do you suppose Tywin Lannister would volunteer to pay us some recompense for a deed he still refuses to admit to the world at large was his doing? Do you suppose gold from Casterly Rock would suffice to pay for the lives of their princess and her children, in the eyes of Dornishmen and Dornishwomen?"

"There must be a way, if only you are willing to find it, Prince Doran."

"Should I send an army to the westerlands, to bring back to Dorne Tywin Lannister and the men whose hands performed the murderous deed, so they could finally be brought to justice? What will the king do then? Will he sit back in King's Landing and do nothing, while his good-father's lands are being attacked? He wishes to remain _neutral_ , you say? How could he remain neutral, when has yoked himself and the Iron Throne to the Lannisters and tied all their fates together? He has rewarded Tywin Lannister for his murderous deed, while refusing us even a small semblance of justice, even a token effort at it. Pray tell me, Lord Arryn, where is the neutrality in that?"

"The king will do what he must, to keep peace in the realm."

" _Peace._ You speak of peace. How could there be any true peace without _justice_? Do you not see what an impossible position your king has forced us into? He will not provide us any recourse for justice, yet he will attack us should we try to get that justice for ourselves. What should we do, Lord Arryn? What would _you_ do, if you were in our position?"

"I only know what you and your brother are planning to do, Prince Doran. And let me remind you of this - the rest of the realm will _never_ rise with Dorne to bring down this king. Not for the sake of Elia of Dorne and the children of Rhaegar Targaryen. That is the brutal and unvarnished truth of it. On its own, Dorne is not strong enough to wage war against the Iron Throne. There is not even the certainty that the entirety of Dorne will rise alongside House Martell, should you call your banners. Your position is a very weak one, Prince Doran. You cannot afford to wage this war. So _end it_. Whatever plan or scheme you have put in motion to raise Dorne for Viserys Targaryen, end it. End it _now_ , before King Robert decides to rain fire and blood on Dornish soil."

"Might before right, you mean. We must humbly and meekly bow down and accept this _blatant_ miscarriage of justice, this shameless _injustice,_ because we do not have the might to defeat this king, or even to force his hand to do the right thing, to do his _duty._ You started a war to depose a king you called a tyrant, and you put in his place a king who threatens to rain down fire and blood on his people, who would side with the more powerful over the less powerful each and every time, who refuses to do his duty to provide justice for his people. Are you proud of that legacy, Lord Arryn? Are you proud to be serving this king, this man who could not even be bothered to hide his smile when Tywin Lannister presented him with the bodies of my sister and her children?"

"You should be more concerned with your own legacy, Prince Doran. Do you wish to be remembered as the prince who brought Dorne to its knees by his reckless conduct?"

"It is not my legacy that concerns me, or how I will be remembered. It is the fate of my people."


End file.
